Miss Bean and I headed out into some
wind and cloudy skies and I ran around. Felt pretty strong and good.

Ran 4 miles in 37:55 Average Pace
9:28/mile

Wednesday: 30 minute Tempo run

What I did: Killer Buns and Thighs by Jillian Michaels

I didn’t want to run but still
wanted a good solid 30 minute workout. Killer Buns and Thighs Rocks!! Jillian
always knows how to kick my butt!

Thursday: 3 mile "easy"
run

What I did:3 mile stroller run

It was a beautiful day and I went
for 3 easy miles. At this point I was thinking I was going to run the 5k
instead of the Half. I had skipped my last 3 tempo runs (I know I’m bad!!)

Ran 3 miles in 31:04 Average Pace10:21/mile

Friday: Rest Day

What I did: Rest

Saturday: Rest Day

What I did: Rest

Saturday I rested and even took a 20
minute power nap withmy daughter!I wanted to go out to Coeur d’Alene with my
hubby and he was working so I had to wait till he got home which was about 4
pm. That morning he had said to me “Screw the 5k, Run the Half!” Haha..I
started to hydrate early thinking that I would maybe run the half but my only
thing was I needed new shoes if I was going to run the half. I didn’t want to
run the half in my current shoes since they have been bugging me and I have
close to 300 miles on them. When my hubby got home we jetted out the door to
make it to Fleet Feet so I could get some new shoes. I was more than impressed
with Fleet Feet's shoe fitting process. The salesperson (forgot his
name!) spent ample time me: he measured my feet, arches and width of my foot
watched me walk and talked to me about my old shoes (which I brought), he
brought out 3 pairs of shoes to try on first. I tried on the Brooks Launch, Saucony
Guide 5 and Asics Gel-Speedstar first. I really liked the Asics but they didn’t
feel like they were supporting my right heel the way I wanted them to, at least
for longer runs since my right foot is finicky. He then brought out some Zoots,
MizunoWave Riders and Brooks Ghost. I liked the Zoots but only if I was doing a
triathlon because they didn’t have support in the heel but were easy for
transitions. I liked both the Mizuno Wave Rider as well as the Brooks Ghost.
I went with the Mizuno Wave Rider because it supported my narrow heel and arch
the best and since my right foot is finicky I wanted to do what was best for
it. Overall Fleet Feet surpassed my expectations for the shoe fitment process
and I was way more impressed with the time and attention to my needs in a shoe
over Runners Soul in Spokane. From now on I will be making my future running
shoe purchases from Fleet Feet. After I got my shoes we headed on over to
Registration and I hopped out of the car while my hubby drove Miss Bean around so she wouldn’t
get fussy. I walked in and got a form to fill out. I started getting a bit
excited because the moment I looked at the options to circle; 5k, half marathon
or full marathon, my heart jumped when I saw the ½ marathon. I was going to do it!
I’ve been training for it and even though I missed some runs and had some
disappointing races, I knew that my heart wanted to run the ½ marathon
regardless of what the outcome would be. I paid my fee and got my number,
picked up my shirt and then headed out the door beaming. I jumped in the car
and showed my hubby the bib and he said “Nice!” I said, “I listened to my
heart.” He said, “Napolean Dynamite, eh?” LOL

Sunday: Half Marathon

What I did: ½ marathon

Coeur d’Alene
Half Marathon Recap:

Saturday
night I prayed that Miss Bean would sleep well and that I would sleep well, God
answered my prayer! We slept wonderfully and she only woke up once and nursed!
I woke up prior to my alarm going off and was pretty calm. I got up and put on
my clothes and shoes and headed out for some toast with peanut butter. I usually
have a banana but, we ran out that week and I forgot to go pick some more up. I
prepared my fuel belt with water and some tropical Nuun and grabbed my Cliff
Shot Blocks. I had told my hubby on Saturday that I didn’t want to wear my belt
because I didn’t want people to think I’m a weak sauce but he assured me, “Who
cares about what they think and they are notnursing a baby.” I know he is right. I even tell myself that I shouldn’t
care but then I still find myself caring! Run your own Race, right?! My sis in
law was to pick me up at 6:30 am on the way there so that my hubby and Miss
Bean could sleep a little more and meet me at the finish. She texted me at 6:17
and said she was going to be late and was just leaving her house. I assured her
it wasn’t a big deal since Coeur d’Alene is only 15 minutes from my house on an
early Sunday morning. She arrived at 6:42 am and we were off. She asked me if
she should get some gas since her tank was running low. I told her that if she
doubted making it we better stop and fill up. We then joked about if we broke
down how we would have to run 13.1 miles to get to the start and then run 13.1
more, might as well do a full marathon right? LOL. We arrived in Coeur d’Alene
and we both had to go potty, of course! We parked and then began to jog over to
the porta potties but seeing that there was a HUGE line we decided we would
head to Starbucks instead. There was a sign that said no public restrooms but
we chose to ignore it. There was only about 6 other girls in line, all were
running the race. It was around 7:11 and the race started at 7:30 so we hoped
we could make it in time, if not it wouldn’t be the end of the world since the
race is chip timed. The line moved pretty quick however, it was 7:30 by the
time we left and we still had to jog to the start line. We made it to the start
when the last of the crowd of half marathoners were running through. The bob
and weave started at that point. We started weaving through walkers and slower
runners. This occurred for the first 2 miles. We talked about our goals for
this race. I said that my initial goal when I started training was for a sub
1:50 but since I missed 3 tempo runs and I wasn’t prepared for it that I would
just run and enjoy it and if I hit the goal than great and if not hopefully it would
still be a sub 2. She had wanted to run a sub 2 but since she is in grad school
she has missed a lot of training she didn’t think it would happen this race. My
sis in law didn’t feel like she could run a pace faster than a 9:00 minute mile
and I felt good so we split ways at the 2 miles. It was really fun passing
people, not that I felt better than them, it just felt better to pass than be
passed! My shoes felt great too! I was happy I went with the Mizunos. After all,
my last favorite shoes were Pearl Izumis and the sales rep at Fleet Feet told
me the guy that designed the arch for Pearl Izumi went to Mizuno, or I just
have Japanese feet, lol. At about mile 3 the view of the lake begins and so
then I started to pray and just felt happy that I was there. I thanked God for
running and leading me with my heart to run the half. I sang in my mind “Lord
you are GOOD and your MERCY endures FOREVER!” I smiled. I actually couldn’t stop smiling. I
was so joyful!! My third mile beeped 8:02. Effortless. It was effortless. It’s
amazing how when your focus is on GOOD things, you don’t think about your
speed! After about a ½ mile we made a right at the park, I said goodbye and see
you later to the water. It was beautiful. I started to notice that everything
was beautiful. The trees, the birds, the people. It was good. I ran around the
park and then we came through the town of Coeur d’Alene. I continued to pass
people, I did come from the back of the pack! I still had a silly grin on
my face. I was thankful I didn’t run the 5k because I wouldn’t of had this
beautiful journey. I thought about running 26.2 and I thought maybe I would run
the Full Marathon next year. We turned onto the same street the 5 mile Spring
Dash starts on and I remembered racing the 5 miler and how at the time I had
thought this little mole hill was huge. I effortlessly climbed it this time.
Around mile 6 I saw the lead runners coming around and I started cheering for
them. I thought that I probably could be running faster since it’s easy for me
to yell and run but I was just enjoying the run and wanted to keep it that way.
I saw all the Swifts running team, a woman's running team in Spokane, I cheered
for them. I thought about maybe joining the running team, if I was fast enough
someday. I keptrunning and encouraging
people as I went. The turnaround came all to quick. I wanted to keep running. I
wanted to run the full even though the longest I had ran this training period
was 11 miles. When I was coming back I scanned the runners looking for my sis
in law to cheer her on but I missed her somehow. After the race she said she
had missed me too. I decided I better start running a little faster but only if
I didn’t have to breathe hard. I really was enjoying my effortless run. I kept
singing in my head “Lord, You are GOOD and YOUR MERCY ENDURES FOREVER!!” “Oh,
HOW HE LOVES US”. The race was going so well. I started passing dudes that
looked like triathletes and I felt soo cool, lol. I thanked the spectators for
cheering for us. While running by the resort I saw a girl who looked like Abby
from the Biggest Loser and she was holding a sign that said “Enjoy the Journey”
I told her “Great Sign!”. I WAS Enjoying the Journey! That was for sure. I came
up to the path that ran between the park and the water. Beautiful! I felt
strong and I felt that I could handle the 3+ miles ahead. I saw a girl who
looked like Tasha and then she yelled “Go Kristie!” and then I realized IT WAS
Tasha (Healthy Diva). She had her cute puppies with her. I said “Hi! and Hi
cute puppies!” I kept running. There were cameras after the park and I still
had a smile on my face. I wasn’t trying to smile for them. I was just happy! I
ran strong passing them. After I passed I figured I would take a Shot Block. It
was hard to chew and I had to down some water. A girl passed me and lifted up
her fist as she passed. I thought, maybe it was her goal to pass me. I thought,
I’m up for some competition, I’ll catch her and pass her. A good end of the race motive.
I finished eating my shot block and then started to pursue her. I passed a guy
and then another. I was close behind her. We came up to another two girls
running. We rounded a corner and then space came for me to pass. I charged
ahead passing her and the other two girls. I kept trucking. I told myself “Keep
trucking! Don’t let up!” Mile 11 beeped at 8:00. I told myself that “Now is
when the battle occurs since I haven’t ran more than this.” I saw a small hill
ahead and brought the EYE OF THE TIGER out. I passed 2 dudes running up the hill.
On the way down I raised my arms to release tension in my upper back and to
Praise the Lord! Then one of the dudes came flying by me. I thought, “Ooo a
challenge!” But then I said to myself “Run your own race” I kept my eyes fixed
on him ahead of me and would follow him to the finish since he had strong
karma. I passed more people as I looped around to the finish line. At .10 to
the finish a dad and his boy cheered for me and the boy gave me a high five. I started
to increase speed. I then heard someones footsteps behind me as I rounded the
corner to the finish. I heard spectators cheering for her “Go Melissa!” I would
not allow her to pass me. I scanned the crowds for my hubby and baby girl and
could not find them. I finished strong and Melissa didn’t pass me.After I finished I saw Melissa and realized
it was the same Melissa I knew from Starbucks! I said Hi and we laughed about
racing at the end. I later asked her if she would like to run together sometime
and she agreed. I grabbed two bananas and then went to look at the race
results. I eagerly typed in my number 2196.

The Coeur
d’Alene Half Marathon is a great race. It has great spectator support and the
scenery is beautiful. It’s not too packed but if it does get any larger they
will need to widen parts of the course and shut down some roads. I look forward
to running it every year I have the chance to.

I don’t
have a picture from the race since my hubby didn’t make it in time. I have these from after the race though.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

This song kept playing through my head during my run...I got home and sang it and then I decided to share it.

I read this scripture this morning:

Romans 8:31-39(NASB)

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?36 Just as it is written,

“ For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Oh How He Loves Us and HE will SAVE you, HEAL you, DELIVER you, PROTECT you and COMFORT you ALL of your days!!

Romans 10:13 (NASB)

13 for “ Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

1 Peter 2:24 (NASB)

24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

Psalm 91:14 (NASB)

14 “ Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

Proverbs 30:5 (NASB)

5 Every word of God is tested;He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NASB)

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Since I never posted last weeks review of week 10 this post contains week 10 and week 11 of half marathon training. However, my goal race has changed and I will update you on the changes throughout this post since it was kind of a progressive decision.

What I did: I didn’t do anything. Mentally and Physically I was spent
and didn’t desire to do single thing other then hang out with my daughter.

Tuesday: 5 mile "easy" run

What I did: Nothing once more…huge mental barrier to even think out
running or working out.

Wednesday: 45 minute tempo run

What I did: Nothing yet again. At this point I think my training or
should I say racing has made me burnt out (mentally…not physically).

Thursday: 3 mile "easy"
run + Strength

What I did:Ok at this point I
needed some help. I logged into my Daily Mile account and posted a note asking
for some encouragement. I was able to talk through some anxiety about whether I
should race my half or not because I didn’t want to become dehydrated again due
to nursing. Couple of wonderful ladies and moms helped me out and I decided to
do some yoga and then ran 3 of the slowest miles I have run in a long time.

Ran 3 miles in 33:27 Average Pace:
11:09/mile

Friday: Rest Day

What I did: Nothing and I started to feel better about not racing my
half and possibly just running it for fun with my sis-in-law or racing the 5k.

Saturday: 5 “pace” miles

What I did: 5 “pace” miles

I started this run sort of in a fog
and unsure if I was going to be able to hit my pace since I ran so slow on Thursday.
I had been disappointed with quite a few things in my life and not just
running. I really just wanted to run and pray and try to hit my goal pace and
if not I knew it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I put my phone on Pandora
and set it to the Hillsong United station and was just running along let the
praise music take my mind off of the things going on and fixing it on Jesus. It’s
amazing how God will touch my heart and cause me to be overwhelmed in His Peace
and then in His Presence I find my strength.

*Zephaniah 3:17:

The Lord your God is
in your midst,A victorious warrior.

He will exult over you with joy,He will be quiet in His love,He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

*Psalm 28:7:

The LORDis my strength and my shield; My heart trusts
in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall
thank Him.

First mile 8:15

*Romans 8:15: For you have not received a spirit of slavery
leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by
which we cry out, “ Abba! Father!”

Yes my Heavenly Daddy
Loves Me!!

Second Mile 8:18

*Romans 8:18: For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be
revealed to us.

Keep your eyes
focused on the things unseen and not seen!!

*2 Corinthians 4:17-18

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an
eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,while we look not at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

I see the light…the
light at the end of tunnel…although just a glimmer of hope...it is there!

Third Mile 8:12

*Romans 8:12So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the
flesh, to live according to the flesh—

My obligation is not
to man but to God! He is who made me, me!

*Psalm 139:13

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

Fourth Mile 8:20

*Matthew 28:20b…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end
of the age.

Jesus is with me!

Fifth Mile 8:11

*Romans 8:11

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in
you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to
your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

He
is my way, He is my life and His love will light the way for me!

By the end of the 6 miles I was
relieved and refreshed. My Shepherd always puts my mind at ease and calms my
soul.

*Psalm 23:1-4

The Lord is my
shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walkthrough the darkest valley,I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff,they comfort me.

Total run 6.05 miles in 51:40 Average
Pace: 8:33/mile

Sunday: 11 mile run

What I did: 5k Family Fun Run

This day
was Mother’s Day and I decided that I would take a week off from a Long Run and
just do a fun “naked” (no Garmin) run! We ran what we though was about 3 miles
and then after I got home I mapped it ad it was actually 3.10 miles which was
a5k! I also didn’t have enough time to
run much longer since I had to clean the house and prepare the food (which my
hubby ended up doing, Thank You!) for Mother’s Day BBQ we were having. Here is
a couple pics from the day:

Went on a 2 mile walk with Miss Bean
pushing her in the stroller. I wanted to do Yoga but never got around to it
though.

Tuesday: 5 mile "easy" run

What I did: 2 mile family run

I wanted to run with my hubs since he
is trying to run 3 days a week so I told him I would push the stroller and we
could do an easy 2 miles. He said before we left, “Why is it I’m thinking this
is going to be fast?” well his fast that is J I wanted to go a little bit quicker than a normal easy run
with the stroller.

Ran 2 miles in 18:26 Average Pace
9:13/mile

Wednesday: 10x400 5k pace

What I did: Didn’t have anyone to watch Miss Bean so I had to wait till
Thursday to run this workout. I would try and push the stroller but I just don’t
think it is smart since I know I injured myself running faster with it before.
I need to build my core more before I run speed with the stroller, that’s my
plan at least.

Thursday: 3 mile "easy"
run + Strength

What I did:10x400 at 6:35/mile
with 400 jog in middle, 2 miles warm up/down, strength

I was going to run this outside
however I didn’t realize when I put my Garmin on the charger last that it didn’t
actually start charging therefore, my battery was dead. I had to therefore go
to the gym and run this on the treadmill. The speed workout was definetley a
battle and I had to fight to finish by the 5th 400 because it seemed so much harder
to run on the treadmill at the even pace since I think I usually run out my 400’s progressively outside. I did it though and it felt good to know I had ran a
total of 2.5 miles at a 6:35/mile pace (even though I had jogs in the middle).

Ran 7 miles in 58:50 Average Pace: 8:24/mile
at Treadmill Incline 1%

Friday: Rest Day

What I did: 1 mile walk with Miss Bean

Went on a little walk with Miss Bean
to calm her down to go to bed. I also wanted to do Yoga on this day but it just
didn’t happen, ugh! I believe Miss Beans premolars are coming in so I think
that is why she hasn’t been cranky and not sleeping well.

Saturday: 3 “pace” miles

What I did: 5 stroller miles

I didn’t have anyone to watch Miss
Bean again and I didn’t want to run fast pushing the stroller so I met up with
my sis-in-law and we went for a run on the Centennial Trail in the Bowl and Pitcher
section. It’s a beautiful run along the river but with a steep hill that was a
beast running up while pushing the stroller. I felt like Rocky…a little…EYE OF
THE TIGER…shall I say?! Boo Yaa!!!

Total run 5 miles in 48:05 Average
Pace: 9:37/mile

Sunday: 12 mile run

What I did: 11 mile run

My mom
was able to watch Miss Bean so I was able to meet up with my sis-in-law again
to run 11 or 12 miles, we determined we would figure out how long we wanted to
run once we got into the run with how we felt. She mapped out a route and the
first half was down hill and the second was up gradual uphill so it was a fairly
challenging route to run. I also would run at her long run pace which is about
a minute slower than my long run pace so that was also a challenge.

We had a
great time though just chatting away about different things and the miles just
flew by. She was pretty sore since not only did she run with me the day before
but that Friday she had rode 18 miles on a bike, so we decided we would end at
11 miles. I was cool with that too because my feet were aching by mile 9. I talked
over the pros and cons with her about running the Coeur d’Alene Half and I knew
I didn’t want to race it but I thought we could maybe try for a “Fun” PR (stole
this from Harmony at Keep on Keeping On) but I still didn’t know about staying
hydrated with nursing and I also didn’t know if my feet would like me after
running that long. I didn’t realize until now that the shoes I bought, the
Saucony Powergrid Cortanas, are actually a performance training shoe and have
only a 4mm drop in the sole. So that explains why my calves and feet are so
achy after long runs because it didn’t start happening till I got the shoes!!
Funny thing is that I went to the local running store to get shoes so that I
wouldn’t have any issues…they just forgot to mention this to me while they were
having me try shoes on. It also explains why I have this love/hate relationship
with them, I love them on short quick runs but not so much on long runs…hmmm...that’s
because they are not an ideal shoe to run long runs in (at least not intinally
I’m sure if I had eased into running with them it would have been a different
story). Which leads to my decision to race the 5k instead of the half on Sunday
in Coeur d’Alene. I feel at peace about this and am actually getting excited to
race 5k!

Friday, May 18, 2012

I have not been able to write a full blog post since I've been busy, busy, busy! I have been able to read some of your blogs on my phone with Google Reader and sometimes I can post a comment but most of all I have been somewhat of a blogslacker. Sorry!

I'm considering racing the 5k in Coeur d'Alene instead of the half...sound crazy?

I'm just not mentally prepared for racing a long race and I didn't do well in my last 5k so I was thinking I could try to do well this time.

However, my sis-in-law is running the half and she is not racing so we could have a fun time but, I'm still concerned about staying hydrated.

5k Cons:
*It's short
*Haven't been training for it (does this even matter?)
*No friends to run with

Half Pros:
*Run with sis-in-law and have a FUN TIME!
*I've done 90% of my training runs and am technically ready to run 13.1
*It's a Journey :)

Half Cons:
*Possible Dehydration...NOT FUN!!
*I wouldn't be racing so no PR
*I have mixed feelings about just running for "fun" and not racing but I'm sort of discouraged from my last 2 races and feel like I need a little more time to mentally prepare for racing 13.1

I decided Miss Bean and I needed a
little adventure and we went to the Coeur d’Alene Centennial trail to run. It’s
also part of the Coeur d’Alene Marathon and Half Marathon so I’m familiar with
the route by the water. I love to run by water, something about the water calms
me and makes me feel at ease. If I had my choice I would live on an island just
to be surrounded by water.

5 miles @ 49:28 Average Pace: 9:53/mile

I took this while running:

Water is up super high since the Dams have not been opened yet:

Miss Bean in front of the Coeur d'Alene Resort:

There were geese EVERYWHERE, I had to dodge their poop on the trail!

Wednesday: 9x400 5k Pace

What I did: 9x400 in the range of 1:36.9-1:41.1 (6:29-6:46/mile pace)
per McMillian Running Calculator for speed workouts for middle distance runners
at my current 5 mile race time.

I went up to the South Hill so my
in-laws could watch Miss Bean while I ran speed work. Attempting speed work
with a stroller is more of a chance for injury, for me at least, I’m not
superwoman like some runners.

What I did: I didn’t get anything done this day. It rained and I didn’t
want to go in the rain. Miss Bean has been teething and fussy so I decided I
would just spend more time with her inside.

Friday: Rest Day or Easy Run

What I did: 3 mile stroller run

Felt like running so I did. My
Garmin battery was dead because I forgot to put it on the charger after my run
on Wednesday. I ran my usual 3 mile route at an easy pace with a sprint at the
end. Felt good but my calve muscles were feeling pretty tight, followed up the
run with foam rolling and stretching.

Saturday: Rest

What I did: Rest and went to the Bloomsday Expo to pick up the race
packet

Met my sis-in-law at 10:30 at Thomas
Hammer in downtown Spokane and then walked down to the convention center to
pick up our race packets. The Expo was packed with what felt like a trillion
people. We bellyached that we should have come earlier or on Friday, next year
we will. It did give me a glimpse of how many people would be running/walking Bloomsday;
therefore I was mentally prepared for the craziness the next day would bring.

Mmm...Velvet Hammer!

Crazy Expo! Most of the people are not shown.

Miss Bean being cute, as always!

My sis-in-law (left) and me (right).

Sunday: 15-K Race

What I did: 12k Race- Bloomsday

RACE
RECAP (warning: it is LOOONG!):

Waking up
on Sunday morning was easy because I hadn’t slept much the night before due to
Miss Bean waking up for nursing sessions (why does this happen on race day??). I
suffered mental anguish most of the night about whether or not I could run at
the pace I was aiming for and if I could do it by myself. Unfortunately, Tasha
was not going to be pacing me and I doubted if I could do it by myself. I had
told Tasha that she could run for fun and not with me if it put too much
pressure on her because of her heartbreaking marathon she just ran the Sunday
before. She never communicated with me what she was going to do but I assumed
by Saturday that she wasn’t running with me because we never set up to meet. (With
that being said, I’m glad she didn’t run with me because she got a PR and my
run was not a fun experience.) Miss Bean got up when I did at 6 am, which was
not helpful because I had to get her ready before I got ready. I got her diaper
changed and put an outfit on her and then went to make something to eat. She
however, didn’t want me to let her down, she cried if I did (I have a hard time
when she cries it makes me sort of frantic and disorderly, other moms may know
the feeling). I grabbed an english muffin and popped it in the toaster and then
that’s what I ate. Which is not my usual pre-race food but I have ate them
before runs in the morning in the past, pre-baby pre-nursing past that is. I
downed a cup coffee to give me my caffeine buzz and then drank some water to
help eliminate the dehydrating effect of coffee (little did I know at the time
that I didn’t drink enough water!). We hopped in the car and off we went to
meet my sis-in-law and a couple of her friends down by Gonzaga at 8 am before
the race. We live about 20 minutes from downtown and we left at 7:45 so I was a
little edgy about being late but fortunately we made it there in time. However,
when I arrived there one of my sis-in-law’s friends was not there so we waited
for 20 minutes for her. By that time we were pushing 40 minutes to race start
and we still had to jog down to the start line. Then the same chick had to stop
and go pee, which added another 10 minutes of time. We made it into the yellow
group at the last call, they shut the gate behind us, phew!! We weaved through
people to try to get towards the front but we only made it to about the middle
of the pack. While we were waiting I was trying to get in my “happy” state and
was joking around with my sis-in-law but, then the chick (same chick that was
late and had to pee) started talking negatively about some people and I really
don’t like when people are mean!

Side note:
I know that when people are mean it’s usually because they suffer from
insecurities themselves and to keep the focus off of their negative qualities
(that they base within themselves) they talk negative about others. I try to
not judge or base what someone does off of how they act or talk because I
believe people are better than they think they are or others think they are and
that’s probably a fault on my part because I end up wearing my heart on my
sleeve and get hurt easier than I should. I want to see the good in people and
I want people to know that Jesus loves them just the way they are and that He
wants to save them. Nobody is perfect and we should all know and expect that by
now.

Side note
end.

On that
note I just responded back to the chick that some people don’t realize the way
they look and we should be sympathetic towards people.

Start of Tangent:
Plus who ever said looks are everything? If you judge the way someone looks
then you may never get to know who that person really is. We should always try
to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes because we have never experienced
where they are instead of judge them from the outside. I will be honest in
saying I have judged people on the exterior before and have ended up being
totally wrong about them only to find out that I was the rude person and not
them. Give grace if you desire grace, give mercy if you need mercy. Treat
others as you would want to be treated. End of Tangent.

Then a gun
fired and the race started, first the Elites, Corporate Cup and Brown Seeding
were off. Then the Yellow Seeding, which I was in, was next to go. The crowd
started to move up a little and I said, “Oh have we started?!” “Yes, this is
it!” exclaimed my sis-in-law. We walked for about 100 meters and then started
to jog and before I knew it we crossed the start line. I ran about 200 meters
with my sis-in-law and then we parted ways because she did not have the same
goal as me. The first mile was a bunch of weaving through people and I ran on
the grass in the median in the middle of the street. BEEP!! I heard my Garmin
sound way before the 1st mile hit and then realized I forgot to take
it off .25 mile splits from the speed work I did the Wednesday before the race,
Oh Crap…Oh well! I knew that as long as I was under 2:00 minutes for each ¼ mile
I would be on track for my goal. My goal was to run the 7.46 miles, hills and
all, under an hour. My plan of attack was to run steady on the straight-aways
at a sub 8:00/mile and then try to bank time on the down hills so that it would
make up for the added time up the hills and then after Doomsday hill I would
put my all into the last mile and half. The first 4 and ½ miles went by quickly
and I felt strong and was running sub 8 minute miles and under for the majority
of my splits. Then while I was running down the hill just before the bridge to
go over the river and up Doomsday hill,
I felt a sharp pain in the upper middle of my back. It was like two knives were
cradling my spine and it was making it hard to breath. I drank the rest of my
Nuun from my Nathan Sprint handheld but my mouth felt a little dry. I tried to
lean forward in my stride since I thought I had been leaning back going down
the hills and maybe that caused the pain in my back to start but, to no avail
it just kept cramping. Then a wave of nausea overwhelmed me as I went to ascend
Doomsday. I decided at that point I
would stay next to an older gentleman who I had been leap frogging with the
whole race, he had a Venice Marathon shirt on and I thought about how cool it
would be to run a marathon in Venice. I started the ascent behind him and then
just stayed next to him till the middle of the hill and then it just seemed too
slow for me so I chugged on by myself. Almost up the hill there was a
wheelchair racer who had blood going down his arm but was turning his wheels
with agonizing force. I shouted out encouragement to him, “You can do it!
Almost there!! You ROCK!!” It’s amazing how when you encourage others it gives
you energy. I ran up the hill the rest of the way and saw the water stop ahead
and decided I would grab a cup and walk through the stop and hopefully that
would help ease the cramp in my back and the nausea. After I drank the water I
started to run again but with each step the pain worsened. By mile 7 it was
horrible and the awful part of it was that I felt like I couldn’t breath. My
mouth was all dry and then it hit me…I was dehydrated and the pain was a cramp,
an EVIL MUSCLE CRAMP!! Ugh!! The rest of my body was aching and the nausea I
felt was due to dehydration. The thought crossed my mind that maybe I should
stop and have my husband come get me, “I don’t want to die!!” But then I retaliated
against myself, “Don’t be so dramatic, you made it this far and it’s not like a
marathon where you could die if you didn’t stop.” I was just battling against
myself to not walk at this point and just keeping running...or jogging. It was
painful but not the most pain I have ever experienced (28 hours of labor with
no epidural is, but that’s another story!). When I saw the turn up ahead that
led to the finish line I tried to give it my all and sprint through the finish
line but I couldn’t get my legs to go. I ran through the finish but then
stopped and walked. I felt like I wanted to cry, I felt miserable, I wanted my
husband and my Miss Bean. I needed water but there was none to be found. I
texted my husband to see where I could meet him. They were handing out water at
two different places before the shirt pick up. I grabbed two cups of water and
downed them. Tore my ticket off my shirt and handed it to the gal to pick up my
Bloomsday Finisher Shirt. If ever there was a race where I felt like I deserved
a shirt, this was it. My husband and Miss Bean were to be at the next
intersection and my eyes wandered around desperately searching for them and
then Hallelujah! Hallelujah!! Hallelujaahh!! There they were. My husband handed
me my Nalagene and I downed it like a thirsty plant (haha, couldn’t think of
another metaphor). I still felt crappy but my hubby gave me a big hug and said
he was proud of me which made me feel better. I kissed my Miss Bean and she
smiled which made me feel sunny inside. I needed FOOD right away, we walked
down to Thomas Hammer and my hubby said to get a breakfast burrito and a
coveted PBNJ (chocolate peanut butter frozen drink that’s delicious beyond
words!). I was totally out of it, I had a hard time deciphering what I was
doing or saying but I ordered my food and drinks and then waited patiently for
them to heat up the burrito, which I devoured in .2 seconds after. I felt more
coherent after I had food and water and walked the trail back to our car that
was parked next to Gonzaga. After the race I knew I needed to figure out how to
stay hydrated before I ran anymore races longer than 5 miles because it seems
that at 4.5 miles I start to dehydrate. I then remembered a post by Dorothy
Beal at Mile Posts where she was dehydrated from nursing baby C at a half
marathon and what she did to remedy the situation. The post is here. In short I
will be measuring out all my water for the day by placing it in my 32 oz.
Nalagen bottles (4 of them=128 ounces) plus a 20 ounce Nathan bottle will hold
Nuun. I will then keep them on my counter so that I will be reminded to drink,
drink, drink through the day.

This should be fool proof way to
prevent dehydration. At this point I’m not sure I will be running the Coeur d’Alene
half marathon and I may wait and do the Seattle Rock n’Roll half marathon
because it will give me another month to prepare as well as help me test out my
new hydration plan. The biggest thing is making myself drink whether I “feel”
like drinking or not. As well as keeping my coffee (I don’t drink soda) consumption
low a couple days before the race. I got these other sources of caffeine to see
if they still give me umph with less dehydration.

Here are
my splits from the race: I did my best to calculate the miles from my ¼ miles
but they are not 100% accurate:

Mile 1:
7:58

Mile 2:
7:28

Mile 3:
8:00

Mile 4:
7:54

Mile 5:
8:21 (pain began and ascent up Doomsday)

Mile 6:
8:43 (Doomsday and walking through water station)

Mile 7:
8:45 (trying to run with pain...notice I ran faster up Doomsday, ugh)

Mile .50:
4:19 (8:38/mile pace, finish line is down a small hill)

Official
Time: 1:01:47

Average
Pace: 8:16/mile

Time up
Doomsday: 3:51

35th
out of 614 other 27-year-old females

192nd
out of 3,909 people in my age group 23-29

Additional RACE REVIEW: This course is AWESOME!! I really enjoyed the rolling hills and even Doomsday. The distance is not too short but not too long. It has great crowd support and even though it's a huge cluster of people it's a fun race to run. Next year bloggy buddies you should come run with me!!

The only pic my hubs could get of me at the race!

You can see my head in the middle, haha!

Miss Bean and Shaggy the bear walking around with Dada!

Pic of the Spokane Falls my Hubs took

Miss Bean and my Hubby hanging out while I was running

Ooo a goose!

Miss Bean trying to make friends with the goose.

The night
after the race we went to Red Robin since Miss Bean loves the busyness of the
place and I was craving a guacamole burger and fries…I know bad food choices!!

But I took this cute picture of my hubs and Miss Bean:

I'm glad this week is over and it has made me realize that I appreciate my family more than anything else. :) ﻿